The Reckoning(2021)
2021 · Neil Marshall · 111 min
In the aftermath of the Great Plague and amidst the subsequent witch-hunts against women, a young widow grapples with the tragic death of her husband in a society completely consumed by fear and death. Because she rejects the advances of her landlord, she is falsely accused of being a witch and thrown in jail for a crime she didn’t commit. She must endure physical persecution at the hands of England’s most ruthless witch-hunter and face her own inner demons as the devil himself starts to work his way into her mind.
Horror · Drama
6.4233 votes
TMDB score
4/5
Intensity
3/5
Gore
3/5
Stays with you
How The Reckoning scares
The story starts slow, laying out grief and suspicion in a plague-ravaged village, then tightens into a long, grim stretch of imprisonment and torture that makes up most of the back half. It builds dread through helplessness and cruelty rather than jump scares, with occasional visions that blur into something devil-tinged, though the real horror is what people do to each other. It's heavy and upsetting rather than fun, with hard-to-watch stretches of physical and psychological cruelty. This is one for viewers who want grim historical horror with real weight, not a quick scare ride.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, The Reckoning rates psychological 4/5, visceral 4/5, gore 3/5, lingering effect 3/5, and overall intensity 4/5.
- Psychological: 4 of 5
- Visceral: 4 of 5
- Gore: 3 of 5
- Lingering: 3 of 5
- Intensity: 4 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 15 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 75 of 100 — leans Real-world
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 70 of 100 — leans Disturbing
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A grim slow build that steadily escalates into sustained, punishing torment before a slightly calmer close.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 3.
How scary is The Reckoning?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, The Reckoning rates 4/5 — one of the more punishing watches in the catalog, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. It works on both fronts, unsettling the mind while going for the body. Expect it to be moderately gory and genuinely disturbing. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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